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Baek, Miri; Choy, Jin-Ho; Choi, Soo-Jin
Montmorillonite intercalated with glutathione for antioxidant delivery: Synthesis, characterization, and bioavailability evaluation
1 <h5>Introduction</h5> Glutathione (γ- l -glutamyl- l -cysteinylglycine,GSH) is a water-soluble tripeptide involved in many biological processes including intermediary metabolism, catalysis, and transport ( Bannai and Tateishi, 1986 ). It also acts as an endogenous antioxidant, playing an important role in the protection of cells against reactive oxygen species by neutralizing free radicals ( Brezeninska-Slebodzinska et al., 1995; Milne et al., 1993 ). Thus, it is known that high concentration of GSH is found in the organs frequently exposed to xenobiotics such as liver, kidney, and intestine ( Jewell and O’Brien, 1999 ). In addition, GSH is essential to maintain the normal function of the immune system as an immune booster, for example, by activating lymphocytes ( Li et al., 2007 ). Therefore, systemic GSH and cysteine depletion have occurred in many diseases such as HIV infection, acute respiratory disease, and Parkinson's disease ( Mihm et al., 1991; Jahoor et al., 1999 ). However, orally ingested GSH can be easily degraded to free amino acids by chemical and enzymatic hydrolysis ( Witschi et al., 1992 ). Oral GSH is hydrolyzed in the intestine by the intestinal gamma-glutamyl transferase, so small amount of GSH reaches the portal circulation from
http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.pngInternational Journal of PharmaceuticsElsevierhttp://www.deepdyve.com/lp/elsevier/montmorillonite-intercalated-with-glutathione-for-antioxidant-delivery-7boR47zfhu